Table cabinet



April 6, 1943. w. H. LEDBETTER ETAL 2,315,362

TABLE CABINET Filed March 20, 1940 ZSmaentol'S 5% [Alva/(e Patented Apr. 6, 1943 TABLE CABINET Wiilia-m H. 'Ledbetter and Ila Ledbetter, 'Muskegon, Mich.

Application March 20, 1940, Serial No. 325,020

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to improvements in table cabinets and particularly to such table cabinets that have a plane top on which to place instruments and which have a plurality of outwardly swingable drawers wherein to keep instruments when they are not being used; and the objects of improvement are, first, to provide a table cabinet that combines a removable top and a plurality of outwardly swingable drawers which are adequately supported when they are in full open position; second, to provide a table cabinet having a plurality of outwardly swingable drawers that can be swung either outwardly or inwardly with slight effort; third, to provide a table cabinet having swingable drawers that are horizontally supported when swung to open position; and, fourth, to provide a table cabinet having a top that can be readily removed, by lifting ofi, for cleaning or replacement.

These named objects and other objects that appear from a perusal of the description are attained by the structure disclosed in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the improved table cabinet showing one of the swingable drawers in open position.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the table cabinet with a portion of the top broken away as of line 1-1 of Fig. 1, the view showing one of the drawers swung outwardly to open position, the bolt by '1 which the drawer is looked in closed position, and the bracket that affords additional support to the drawer when it is in open position.

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the upper portion of the table cabinet in part section, whereby is illustrated the method by which the top is detachably secured to the drawer portion of the table cabinet.

Figure 4 is an underside plan view of one of the outwardly swingable drawers, illustrating the position of the swivel rod around which the drawer can be swung to open and closed positions and also the runway plate that rests on the anti-friction bearing located in the drawer separators.

Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the ball antifriction bearings on which the drawers slide, the view including a portion of the drawer separator; and

Figure 6 is an enlarged front View of one of the drawer separators having a portion broken away in order to show the mounting of the antifriction ball bearing therein and upon which the drawers slide when the drawers are opened or closed.

Figure 'I is an underside view of one of the separators between the drawers, the View showing the slot 22 in which travels the lug 23 of the brackets 1 during opening and closing movement of the drawer.

Throughout the several views of the drawing, similar numerals refer to similar parts of the present table cabinet, and referring thereto- Numeral I designates the plane top panel having a rolled over boundary at its front and two ends, having downwardly extending flange 2 embracing the upper portion of the drawer supporting portion 3, provided with drawer separators or shelves 4 and, which, when constructed of sheet metal have flanges 4, whereby the shelf associated therewith can be secured to the vertical walls of the cabinet between which are drawers 5 and 6, shown in open position. The drawers have hinged to their back corner within the cabinet, drawer supporting brackets l, and in the corner adjacent the end of the cabinet, lug 8, extending vertically the full depth of each drawer turnable on pivot rod 9 extending vertically from below the lower drawer to above the top drawer. Each drawer separator 4 has mounted in its upper wall a ball bearing l0, set in inclined relation to the said top wall and to the bottom panel of the drawer, thereby raising one side of the ball bearing and permitting only at the most one or two balls of the ball bearing to be rested upon by the runway plate H at the bottom of the drawer 5. Depression I2 in the top wall of each drawer separator 4 provides means whereby the ball bearing 10 is mounted at an incline to the said wall, and in which the ball bearing is secured by screw l3, screw-threaded into upwardly extending lug M of the lower wall of the drawer separator. N umeral I5 designates the locking bolt held in unlocking position, as shown, by spring l6 secured to partition wall ll of the cabinet portion 3. Notch IS, in the side wall [9 of the drawer 6 serves to engage the bolt l5 when the drawer is in closed position, thereby locking the drawer against opening until the drawer 20, between the plurality of drawers at each end of the cabinet, is slightly open. When the drawer 20 is in its closed position, the locking bolt I5 is forced into the notch I8 and remains therein until the drawer 20 is drawn open slightly, when the spring It withdraws the locking bolt from engagement with the notch l8.

Underneath and channeled in the top panel 2| of the cabinet portion and the underside of the drawer separators is groove 22 in which is guided upwardly extending lug 23 shown on the drawer supporting bracket 1, whereby the said bracket is guided so that its end is in close relation to the cabinet wall, while its other end is pivotly secured to the drawer corner and in engagement with the underside of the top panel 2| and separator i. At the top of the curved front wall of each of the drawers is shim plate 24 mortised into the drawer wall with its top surface substantially level with the top of the wall and extending inward of the drawer; whereby, when all the drawers at one side of the cabinet are closed, a continuous support including ball bearing I0 which extends from the bottom to the top of each drawer plurality formation including the top panel of the cabinet is formed. Numeral 29, shown in Figure 4, refers to a bearing plate attached to the bottom of the drawer at its slidable back corner opposite the vertical rod 9 on which the drawer is pivoted and swung when opening or closing the drawer.

Having described our present invention, the

rights thereto which we desire to attain are set forth in the claim as follows:

In a table cabinet, the combination comprising a cabinet structure having a plurality of swingable drawers in vertical formation, each drawer being swingable outward of the cabinet structure from the end thereof and to closed position within the said end of the cabinet structure and around a vertically disposed pivot rod at its back corner adjacent the end of the cabinet, a separator between each pair of drawers and having mounted thereon a ball bearing having its axis .in inclined relation to the top of the separator whereby a fractional number of the balls of the ball bearing will be engaged by the bottom of the drawer above the separator.

WILLIAM H. LEDBET'I'ER. ILA LEDBET'IER. 

